


Caught in a Moment

by merrymorning



Category: Free!
Genre: F/M, Iwatobi, Romance, Samezuka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 21:30:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8594488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrymorning/pseuds/merrymorning
Summary: Two students from abroad come to Iwatobi





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've made Rin and the other guys 18, sexual content may be ahead :P  
> I'm not sure how long this will be, and hopefully I'll update weekly, maybe more often if I can.  
> The Free! characters belong to the creators of course!  
> Thanks for reading!

It was summer in Iwatobi, and the school students were on holidays, finally free to relax during the gloriously sunny days. After a year of conflict between Rin and the Iwatobi relay teams and the friction between Sousuke and Haru, the guys had resolved their problems and were enjoying their peaceful friendships.

The group walked together down the main road parallel to the beach. They'd spent the day shopping for swimwear, and were now on their way to the ice cream parlour before heading to the beach. Momo and Nagisa were loudly leading the group, and as they walked, a competition had started to see who could find the most interesting roadside memento. Nagisa had picked up a stick with a bend in it and flicked it into the distance, a boomerang apparently, but strangely, it never returned. Momo discovered a heart-shaped rock that he declared it a gift for Gou – which earned him shoe in the back of the head, courtesy of an irritated Rin. Makoto was walking a few steps behind them, with an amused and slightly exasperated expression; Rin and Rei spoke about training regimens, while Nitori eagerly listened next to them, diligently taking notes. And Haru and Sousuke were behind and had only begun to warm up to each other, so their conversation was somewhat less animated than the rest of the group, however a new sincerity marked their exchanges where there was once only awkward unfriendliness.

As they rounded the bend in the road, Rin glanced behind him to see Haru and Sousuke in conversation. Meeting eyes with Rei, he nodded and took up a place beside Sousuke, leaning forward with a bigger grin to show his approval of their new friendship. Sousuke rolled his eyes.

"So, Rin, how's the training been?"

"Like you're not there every morning," Rin laughed, "But when are you going to get back into the pool? I need someone to race."

"Mm maybe in a few days if there's no pain", Sousuke replied, rolling his shoulder with a sigh.

"You should go to the hot springs. Apparently, the water helps," Haru suggested, his eyes glistening slightly. Anything related to water was worth knowing. Rin laughed.

Ahead, Nagisa stopped all of a sudden, staring.

"Wah!

A tall, broad-chested young man was walking just ahead of the group. His head was bent down, inspecting something in his hands that was obscured by his body. Iwatobi was a town of average size, however the residents saw enough of each other to know familiar faces. This boy, however, was definitely new to the neighbourhood, if not the whole area.

The boy suddenly came to a stop, turning around with a slight frown still staring at what the group could now see was a sheet of paper. A map of Iwatobi. Now facing them, his face came into view for the first time.

"Oh, a foreigner!" Nagisa whispered energetically. "Let's go talk to him!"

The young man had dark brown hair, and eyes darker still. They were close enough to see that his features suggested his age to be similar to their own, or slightly older.

"Do you think he understands Japanese?" Nitori murmured worriedly.

"Wait, Nagisa-kun! You can't just go up to – " Rei was cut off by Nagisa and Momo's excited whooping. Makoto jumped forward, desperately trying to stop a commotion, breathing out a sigh as he exchanged a glance with Rei.

Nagisa skipped up to the boy.

"Are you... lost?" Nagisa leaned in closer to the other boy, speaking with exaggerated slowness, in clumsy English.

The boy looked up and smiled. "Ah... yes."

"Oh! You speak Japanese!"

"A little" the tall boy replied, and nodding, introduced himself: "I'm Marco."

The other guys, who had been trailing behind, had caught up to Nagisa, and were looking on curiously. Makoto politely smiled and began introducing everyone, only to be interrupted by an excited Momo who started assaulting him with a stream of questions. Marco laughed off Nitori's fervent attempts to apologize, and explained that he and his family had moved to Japan for an extended stay while his parents had business in Tokyo. He was in his final year of school, the same as the seniors of the group, and was enrolled to attend Samezuka from next week. Trying to find the school, he'd lost track of the way he'd come.

"Mm I'm not very good with directions," he explained wryly.

Rin chuckled and gave Sousuke a light kick to the back of the leg. Sousuke rolled his eyes with a grumble.

"Samezuka? That's where we go!" Momo enthusiastically bounced up and down. "The swim program is so great! Although, it is an all-male school which is sort of lame-"

"Ahh, but it's nice making friends with all the guys there... really," Nitori added shyly.

"We can show you around if you'd like," Makoto offered kindly.

Marco blinked slowly, slightly overwhelmed by their ready kindness, but then the tension left his face, and he smile with genuine gratitude.

"Oh, thank you then. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"There's block A, where all the senior classes are, oh except for the sciences, they're in the science building over there. And that's the gymnasium-"

"The dorms are over there!"

"Um... also that's the arts building where-"

"And there's the pool!"

"Um... yes, that's where our swim team trains."

"Hey, Marco-senpai, come and see us train some time."

Once the group arrived at Samezuka, Nitori pointed out each of the buildings and Momo interjected now and then to help with great enthusiasm. Marco was grateful for their kindness. Their energy was a little exhausting but he appreciated their thoroughness. The campus was large enough that getting lost was a real and potential problem. Marco laughed at himself quietly.

Arriving back at the front gates after a full tour of the campus, the guys stood together. Haru glanced back towards the road to the beach, impatient to get into the water. Seeing this, Makoto cleared his throat.

"Well, what's the plan?"

"We're going to the beach now, why don't you come with us Marco-chan?" Nagisa asked brightly.

"I'd love too, but I should be heading home. We've got a lot of unpacking to do." Marco smiled, "Thank you for showing me around." He gave them a small bow.

"So you're not living on campus?" Nitori asked.

"My family have a house not too far away." Marco turned to Nitori and individually thanked him again for showing him the campus. Nitori waved his hands about, flustered at having been thanked so earnestly.

Impatient, Haru waved a hand towards the rest of the group and started back towards the beach quickly. His fast departure had nothing to do with Marco, really. It was his eternal eagerness to get into the water. Nagisa and Momo charged after him happily, calling loudly to each other. Makoto gave Marco an apologetic smile.

"Are you fine to get back on your own?" Makoto asked, concerned. He turned to look at the buys already leaving, and looked back at Marco, ready to offer him help getting home. Haru could go ahead to the beach, and they could meet him later, thought Makoto wryly.

Before Marco could assure him that he knew how to get home, Rin spoke:

"Sousuke and I are going that way anyway. We'll come with you."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, why Iwatobi of all places? You said your parents need to be in Tokyo, right? Rin asked as they made their way down the street. It was late-afternoon, and the sun had started to sink lower in the sky, casting longer shadows. The street was wide and lined with houses, broken by narrow lanes.

"Yeah, but they have friends here in town, and since they often need to be away for days at a time, they thought it would be good to have people we know close by, especially since my brother's only eight," Marco explained.

Then, pausing for a moment, he added:

"And it was for me too, I suppose. I'd heard that Samezuka is a good school for swimmers."

Sousuke looked at Marco with a small smile, saying, "You have the muscle mass in the right places. Figures."

Rin laughed, impressed that Marco had drawn out Sousuke enough to get him to speak. Usually he was quiet with people he didn't know.

"Yeah, I could tell as soon as I saw you. So you're joining the team then?" Rin asked, already excited by the anticipation of a new teammate. And competitor.

"Yeah, that's the plan," Marco said.

It was nice to be so readily accepted by these guys, Marco mused. He was used to constantly moving from place to place, school to school, and it was sometimes difficult to find the time to get to know new people. It was good to keep in touch with the friends he'd made at the various places he'd been before online, but it was good to know that the people around him were willing to be friendly. It was also nice to have Lorena so close, as the

Looking over at Rin and Sousuke, Marco noted that the two of them were also quite muscular, obviously sportsmen. Sousuke would rotate one of his shoulders every now and then. Looks like an annoying injury, Marco thought grimly, familiar with the struggles of injury and rehabilitation, as he refocused his attention on the scenery once again.

"So... I've forgotten their names ...Makoto and Haru was it... they're seniors too?" Marco asked.

"Ah, actually they go to Iwatobi High School," Rin replied.

Marco raised his eyebrows slightly. "Iwatobi... "

Seeing Rin's questioning look, Marco explained with a half-smile: "My friend is starting there. Lorena. She's staying with us at the moment. Our families are very close, and since our parents work in the same circles, she's had a similar upbringing to mine."

Rin gave him a meaningful look from the corner of his eye, wiggling his eyebrow.

Marco laughed and shook his head, simply saying, "She's a good friend."

"You speak Japanese really well." Sousuke commented quietly.

Marco turned his attention to Sousuke, noticing that he was massaging his shoulder again.

"Oh, thanks. I've been learning it for a few years, but I feel like there's still a lot I don't know."

"So, what's your first language then?" Rin asked curiously.

"Italian."

"Cool. Although I was hoping you'd say English so that we could speak together."

"I speak that too. I've spent a lot of time in Australia," Marco switched to English with a smile, and Rin's smile grew.

"Yes! Someone to practise with! Australia, huh? I've spent some time there too," Rin said in English, leaning closer to Marco with his hands in his pockets.

They continued walking through the streets until a turn off into a wide side street that was lined with sakura trees.

"Here we are."

Marco stopped in front of a house, and stepped forward, motioned for the guys to follow and opened the door. The house was mostly of Western design, double-storey with a large balcony. The living room, kitchen and master bedroom were downstairs, and the other bedrooms and a sun room were upstairs. It was spacious, although the lack of furniture and belongings probably made the rooms appear even larger. Bags and boxes were stacked around the solitary couch in the living room.

The guys bent down to swap their shoes for the indoor slippers and stepped into the living room while Marco grabbed some water from the kitchen. Rin looked over the boxes, his eyes wandering the room slowly while Sousuke check his phone. One box was open, part of its context stacked on the ground beside it: books. Lots of books. Another box lay open, revealing CDs and a few more novels. They like to read, Rin noted thoughtfully. The afternoon sunlight was streaming through the window, casting light into the back corners of the room. Near the bottom of the staircase sat a cluster of bags. Rin attention was caught by a lacy bra hanging from one.

"Doesn't look like anyone else is home," Marco murmured as he re-entered the living room carrying the drinks. The guys turned to him.

"Ah, thanks. We can't really stay though," Rin said, taking a glass and draining it completely. Sousuke did the same, nodding in thanks.

Marco smiled and said,"Thanks for everything today."

"Have fun unpacking. So sorry we couldn't stay and help," Rin laughed lightly as they moved towards the entrance.

"Later," Sousuke nodded with a small smile and ducked out the front door.

Rin finished tying his shoelace, and stood to extend his hand out. Marco clapped his own hand with Rin's, giving him a strong pat on the arm.

"We'll see you at school," Rin smiled widely, his sharp teeth making his grin seem strangely all the more friendly, if not slightly cheeky.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 


End file.
